on the contrary, they expressly disclaimed all share in them, except as far as God had been pleased to make them the instruments of his goodness. When Peter had excited the astonishment of the people by restoring the lame man in the temple, he addressed them thus: Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? the faith which is by him (Jesus) hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.* If now, as the Unitarians say, power was communicated to Christ, as it was afterwards to the Apostles; how can we account for the fact, that our Lord always spoke of performing miracles on his own authority, and by virtue of his intrinsic power, while the Apostles studiously avoided all appearance of claiming such a power, and represented themselves as mere instruments in the hands of God?+ In the conclusion of the second chapter it is stated, that although many believed in the name of Jesus (i.e. believed him to be the Messiah) in consequence of the miracles which he performed *Acts iii. 12, 16. + Add to this, that the Apostles worked their miracles in the name of Jesus. at Jerusalem during the Passover, he did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man. And he perceived, no doubt, that of those who professed to believe in him, many entertained an imperfect or unreasonable faith, which would be shaken by the hardships of their profession, or by the difficulties of the Gospel revelation; which did in fact happen, when our Saviour discoursed to them of the living bread which came down from heaven: from that time, says St. John, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more.* He knew the force of prejudice, and the pride of human reason, to be so great, as often to prevent men from believing that which they cannot fully comprehend; he foresaw that many would reject their Saviour, because he came to them in appearance different from what they had expected; and because he asserted claims, which they could not reconcile with their own notions. The same will ever be the case, as long as men set up their own reason for a perfect and paramount guide in matters of religion; instead of receiving, with humility and thankfulness, the revelation which * John vi. 66. God is pleased to make of himself, and waiting for a more perfect knowledge of him, till the time when we shall see him face to face, and know him even as we also are known.* 1 Cor. xiii. 12. No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. ONE of the most striking passages in St. John's Gospel is our Saviour's conference with Nicodemus. He appears to have been a timid, but well meaning man, who was convinced that Jesus was a divinely commissioned teacher; and therefore came to him by night, for the purpose of proposing to him some questions concerning the Messiah's nature and office; a subject which then occupied the attention of the religious Jews. I am not about to dwell upon that conversation, except as far as it touches upon the great question which these Lectures are intended to illustrate : but I cannot avoid remarking, by the way, that our Saviour's declaration of the necessity of an entire change in the state of man, to be wrought by the outward sign of water, and the inward operation of the Spirit, is so positive and general, that it seems very presumptuous and unsafe, to separate the two, and to question the necessity of either part of the regenerating process. A certain sect denies that the ordinance of baptism was intended to be perpetual. But our Saviour's words contain no limitation; nor was the commission of baptism, which he gave to his Apostles, restricted by any definition of time. We are at least on the safe side, in retaining an expressive rite, appointed by our Lord, which his words appear positively to enjoin upon us, and which we know was considered to be necessary not only by the Apostles, but by their successors through a great many ages. I proceed now to consider the words of my text; No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. As Jesus had not yet ascended up to heaven, we must understand this phrase to mean the perfect knowledge which he possessed of the counsels of his heavenly Father. But here the Unitarian turns round upon us, and says, If you interpret the phrase of ascending up to heaven in a figurative sense, so also must you interpret the expression coming down from heaven, |